Commercial vehicles, such as parcel delivery vans, must have a long operational life, a low cost of ownership, and be safe work environments for the driver and handling personnel. The average commercial vehicle must be designed not only to withstand the wear and tear of making hundreds of stops every day, but also operate as efficiently as possible so to limit delivery time and provide the maximum value to the vehicle owner.
A typical commercial vehicle for parcel delivery has two main compartments. The first compartment is the cab compartment where the driver and handling personnel sit while the vehicle is driven from stop to stop. The second compartment is the cargo compartment. Access to the cargo compartment is achieved from two locations. The first location is from the rear of the vehicle via a roll-up or rear-swing door. The second location is the bulkhead door, which provides access to the cargo compartment via the cab compartment of the commercial vehicle.
The vehicle operators have a choice as to which cargo compartment access method they use when removing parcels. Typically, for larger parcels the rear access door is used because the rear door is larger than the bulkhead door. For smaller packages the vehicle operator(s) typically accesses the cargo compartment through the bulkhead door because it is more efficient for the operator to enter the cargo compartment directly from the cab of the vehicle as opposed to walking around to the rear of the truck for every stop.
Additionally, the vehicle operator has the choice of leaving the engine running once they arrive at the scheduled delivery location or shutting the engine off. Either choice is not ideal because if the operator leaves the engine running the vehicle will unnecessarily consume fuel and if they turn the engine off it will take several seconds to retrieve the key and restart the engine.
Because commercial vehicles used for parcel delivery will generally make hundreds of stops every day, and at each of those stops the operator will have to both shut the engine off and enter and exit the cargo compartment in order to obtain the parcel, efficient operation of the vehicle and efficient motion of the operator is extremely important. Accessing the cargo compartment of the vehicle efficiently and starting and stopping the vehicle engine efficiently saves delivery time, prevents unnecessary wear and tear on the vehicle, limits fuel consumption, and limits the potential for the operator to be injured by the repetitive nature of parcel delivery.
Typically, operation of a commercial vehicle used for parcel delivery entails the following processes. First, the operator must manually start the vehicle. Next the operator drives the vehicle to a scheduled delivery location. At the delivery location, the operator then must bring the vehicle to a stop, manually unlock the bulkhead door, manually open the bulkhead door, obtain the parcel, manually close the bulkhead door, deliver the parcel to the desired location, and finally restart the vehicle for the next delivery. A similar process is undertaken if the operator needs to use the rear door to access the cargo compartment as well. Additionally, the operator will pickup parcels at delivery locations. When parcels are collected, the operator will approach the vehicle with the parcel, manually unlock the bulkhead door, manually open the bulkhead door, deposit the parcel in the cargo compartment, and manually close the bulkhead door.
The delivery process described above presents several problems. The process of manually starting and stopping the vehicle, and unlocking, opening, and then closing the bulkhead door takes several seconds during each delivery and consumes fuel needlessly. Considering that the typical commercial vehicle used for parcel delivery makes hundreds of stops every day the additional time and fuel consumed at each delivery can be significant when viewed in the aggregate. Additionally, the repetitive motion of manually opening and closing the bulkhead door hundreds of times every day will cause damage to the vehicle and potentially harm the operator. Harm to the operator can come from the additional movement needed to unlock, open, and then close the door hundreds of times every day, and damage to the vehicle can come from the bulkhead door slamming open every time the cargo compartment is accessed.
In view of the above, there is a need for a cost efficient solution for operating a commercial vehicle that reduces the time and fuel consumed at each delivery and the potential harm to the vehicle and its operator. Embodiments of the invention provide such a solution for commercial vehicles. These and other advantages of the invention, as well as additional inventive features, will be apparent from the description of the invention provided herein.